At sometime in your life, my life, our lives, everyone has heard those words, or has been asked that question more times than they can count… “Did you brush your teeth? ”  And as the dental world evolved over these last 10-20 years, the question turned into “Did you or have you brushed and flossed your teeth?”

Brushing and flossing, why?  Or what one should ask is why not?

For some or us, without that welcomed or dreaded ritual of brushing and flossing, our teeth would just rot away, not to mention all of the dental diseases that would infect our gums and believe it or not spread into our bodies.

Cavities develop because our brushing and flossing habits are lacking the frequency required to keep them healthy.

In a perfect world one should brush and floss after EVERY meal, yes this includes those delightful snacks!  Now I know you’re probably thinking, after snacks too?!   But to be honest we all know depending on the day you might be brushing and flossing all day (especially on Sunday when every team in the NFL, NBA and various other sports are playing!)

In reality, brushing and flossing should occur at least three times a day…after breakfast, lunch and most importantly, dinner.  If you aren’t doing your due diligence at night BEFORE your head hits that pillow, you’re just setting your mouth (teeth & gums) up for a cavity prone and bacterial war zone.

At night while you’re sleeping your mouth is closed most of the time and this is the ideal time and perfect environment for bacteria and germs to wreak havoc on your teeth.  Just think, it’s nice, dark, and moist in there and the perfect place for the bacteria to settle in areas of your mouth and teeth you probably haven’t even thought about.   Also, let’s not forget to brush our tongues!    The top surface of the tongue is covered with small bumpy projections called papillae.  Our tongues are like carpet and just like when we come from outside especially in the winter time and walk into our houses with the mud, snow and other substances I won’t mention here, all of the food we eat goes on top of it and as we eat the food leaves behind remnants which can settle into the tongue causing a film to form thus producing a bad taste and most of all bad breath.

Remember although your teeth look like glass they are porous in nature.  An infection in your mouth can spread into the rest of your body causing other serious health problems, thus…Did you brush and floss your teeth?  🙂